Threats to the Biodiversity of the Brazilian Pantanal Due to Land Use and Occupation

Alho, Cleber José Rodrigues; Mamede, Simone; Benites, Maristela; Andrade, Bruna S.; Sepúlveda, Jose J. O.

doi:10.1590/1809-4422asoc201701891vu2019l3ao

Cited by 30 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…S1b). Between 2010 and 2013, the suppression of native areas in the biome surpassed the Legal Amazon, a fact that can be explained by less severe environmental restrictions, lack of monitoring systems and insufficient inspection actions 29,45 , as well as the prevalence of expanding agricultural frontiers 6,46,47 . In view of this favorable scenario for its occupation, in 2013 the biome surpassed the impressive mark of 50% of its territory anthropized 5 .…”

Section: /11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping the Brazilian landscape: a process drive by land occupation, large-scale deforestation, and rapid agricultural expansion

Parente¹,

Mattos

Baumann

et al. 2021

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Brazil is one of the largest food producers in the world, a leading role that prompted a profound process of anthropization of itslandscapes. Knowing the dynamics and dimension of these transformations is essential for a more efficient and sustainable useof the country’s natural resources. Thus, in this study we present, based on an unprecedented sample design and interpretationof 85,152 sample points in Landsat images, the area estimates of the main land cover and land use classes in Brazil, as wellas their annual transitions, from 1985 to 2018. Our results indicate that, of the 850 Mha that comprise the national territory,294.2 Mha±1.44%were anthropized in 2018, with ~34%of this area converted after 1985. In this period, there was a loss of98.2 Mha±2.27%of natural vegetation, and an increase of 55.1 Mha±0.64%in the pasture areas and 28.2 Mha±0.29%in theareas of annual crops. The transition analysis showed that 83.07 Mha±1.31%of pastures and 9.64 Mha±0.45%of agriculture(annual, semi-perennial, and perennial combined) occurred over natural vegetation, 18.12 Mha±0.63%of pastures wereconverted to agriculture, while another 9.7 Mha±0.45%were abandoned, which can serve as important land reserves for otheruses. The vast public dataset, approaches (simple, robust, and straightforward), codes and tools (open and available) utilizedin this study can be easily employed in any other region of the world, in support of environmental monitoring and improvedterritorial governance practices.

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Section: /11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping the Brazilian landscape: a process drive by land occupation, large-scale deforestation, and rapid agricultural expansion

Parente¹,

Mattos

Baumann

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…The scientific literature has pointed out the importance of freshwater ecosystems and their associated biodiversity, due to the increasing human use of land that has affected those ecosystems along all river systems on the planet [5,6,7].…”

Section: The Realm Of Energy Needs and Environmental Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Habitat alteration and deforestation within the Pantanal have affected terrestrial and aquatic habitats and their associated wildlife [7]. There are important fish species with ecological and socioeconomic values in the biome that migrate to the headwaters for spawning behavior.…”

Section: Case Study 1: Impacts Of Small Hydroelectric Power Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, a study aimed at predicting the extinction of species of wild animals in the Amazon rainforest, living on isolated islands due to the flooding of the Balbina hydroelectric plant, showed that forest area, home range and dispersal ability were the best predictors of occupancy, and fewer than 2% of all 3,546 islands surveyed were likely to harbor at least 75% of all wild species [8]. The barrier effect is one of the main causes in altering the remaining forests on the islands formed by the flooding of the Balbina hydroelectric plant, 26 years after the flooding of the reservoir, with the effects of habitat loss and habitat insularization on tree assemblages [30,7].…”

Section: Case Study 2: Impacts Of Large Hydroelectric Power Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydropower dams and reservoirs and their impacts on Brazil’s biodiversity and natural habitats: A Review

Alho¹

2020

World J. Adv. Res. Rev.

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Much of the electric energy produced within the extensive territory of Brazil (8,511,000 km²) comes from large and small reservoirs built to produce hydroelectric power, which flood large natural areas, negatively impacting regional biodiversity. Huge reservoirs originating from Amazon river dams, such as Balbina (2,360 km², with 26,000 wild animals rescued), in the 1970s, and Tucuruí (2,430 km², 284,000 animals rescued, including more than 19,000 howler monkeys), in the 1980s, caused huge losses of natural forest habitats and the consequent decimation of wild fauna. After being rescued, wild animals were released in neighboring areas, whose territories and spaces were already occupied by local animals. In the face of competitive exclusion or because of the principle of xenophobia, these displaced animals ended up dead or experienced truly little success. As well as causing the loss of regional biodiversity, the reservoir creates a vacuum in the previously continuous environment, causing habitat fragmentation. In addition to the Amazon biome, other rivers in different biomes, such as the Pantanal, have also been threatened with the proliferation of dams. There, the hydrological regime influences nutrient cycling, ecological community, phenology, upstream migration of fish and other factors. Fish migrate to the headwaters for spawning behavior that takes place at the headwaters. If they encounter obstacles, such as hydroelectric dams, the migration is interrupted. This review aims to assess the effects on biodiversity of major hydroelectric plants, with their dams and reservoirs, and discusses viable proposals for damage mitigation, environmental compensation, and biodiversity conservation actions.

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“…The reduction in water mass and precipitation, consequently affecting the river depth and its overflow, harm the ecological process (e.g. fish reproduction, marginal plant phenology and fish seeds dispersal (Alho et al, 2019). Moreover, the delay on precipitation and the condensed water area during the drought season affects the breeding of many species, such as fish, mammals, birds that reproduce during the spring (Alho, 2008, Leuchtenberger et al, 2013.…”

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Climate change reflected in one of the largest wetlands in the world: an overview of the Northern Pantanal water regime

et al. 2020

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The dynamics of Pantanal is totally influenced by the flood pulse, which is, in part, a consequence of rainfall regime from the Amazon in the direction to the headlands and the lowlands where the water is retained, and the flood plain is formed. The impacts of climate change have not yet been measured for the Northern Pantanal (Pantanal of Cáceres), where it is the gateway to most Pantanal waters. Here, we have used rainfall, hydrology, and satellite imagery data to ascertain the possible rainfall patterns, water retention, and level of the Paraguay River over the past decades. Although a well-defined water pulse is found in the Northern Pantanal, over a 42-year historical series the number of days without precipitation has greatly increased, as well the loss of water mass in the landscape over the last 10 years specifically in during the drought season. Overall, nowadays the Northern Pantanal has 13% more days without rain than in the 60’s, and the water mass is 16% less during the drought season considering the last 10 years. These results show that nowadays the Pantanal is losing water and experiencing a more severe drought season than in the past. Regarding the physicochemical and biological cycles of the ecosystem, these changes can result in the loss of biodiversity, as well as the loss of ecosystem services, intrinsically linked to the flood pulse. Given that these losses have been aggravated by anthropogenic pressures (e.g. deforestation, erosion, hydroelectric power stations), the drafting of strategic plans for safeguarding wildlife and human populations, as well as agriculture, cattle raising, fisheries and the preservation of the people’s lifestyle in the Pantanal must be urgently implemented.

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Threats to the Biodiversity of the Brazilian Pantanal Due to Land Use and Occupation

Cited by 30 publications

References 23 publications

Shaping the Brazilian landscape: a process drive by land occupation, large-scale deforestation, and rapid agricultural expansion

Shaping the Brazilian landscape: a process drive by land occupation, large-scale deforestation, and rapid agricultural expansion

Hydropower dams and reservoirs and their impacts on Brazil’s biodiversity and natural habitats: A Review

Climate change reflected in one of the largest wetlands in the world: an overview of the Northern Pantanal water regime

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